MDI Mainer

At least at Acadia there is the section on the mainland on the Schoodic Peninsula which has spectacular scenery and is far less crowded than the parts on Mount Desert Island. Even on MDI the portions of the park on the "Quietside," i.e., Southwest Harbor, Tremont and Bass Harbor, tend to be less crowded than the Ocean Drive part.

And there is also the part on Isle au Haut, linked to the mainland only by passenger ferry from Stonington. Even I've not been there yet!

Isle au Haut from NPS


Schoodic from Getty Images

Gallopingphotog

Thanks for the warning, AND for sharing your photo. Marvelous!

MDI Mainer

Thanks to all who posted and/or viewed the thread. And best wishes for a safe and healthy season in 2021.

MDI Mainer

For any UHH members who are interested in camping in the park itself, NPS has announced that the campgrounds will open this year (albeit at reduced capacity to facilitate social distancing and ease of maintenance). The park's campgrounds were closed in 2020.

Blackwoods Campground is currently scheduled to open May 7; Seawall and Schoodic Woods on May 26.

Reservations for camping in Acadia are being taken only 60 days in advance this year, so the park will the flexibility to adapt to changing conditions.

Reservations may be made online at recreation.gov.

MDI Mainer

The Park Loop Road, most of which closed for the season on December 1st, is scheduled to reopen on April 15 of this year. The opening date is subject to change due to weather conditions, so it's best to check the park's website prior to visiting.

MDI Mainer

Here's a link to some favorite Acadia photo sites from James Kaiser, author of the area guide mentioned earlier in the thread.

https://newengland.com/today/travel/maine/james-kaiser-acadia-national-park/

MDI Mainer

The National Park Service has approved Acadia’s plan to charge a $6 fee for reservations to drive up the Cadillac Mountain summit road between dawn and dusk from late May to mid-October.

The exact dates for 2021 are May 26 – Oct. 19.

As of April 1, timed-entry reservations for Cadillac Mountain may be made online at https://www.recreation.gov/timed-entry/400000

The vehicle reservation fee to access Cadillac Mountain is in addition to the standard park entrance fee.

KenProspero

Thanks!!!

I'll be there in early May, and will check it out

MDI Mainer

The latest updates on Acadia NP opening, courtesy of the Mount Desert Islander:

ACADIA NAT’L PARK — The Park Loop Road and Cadillac Mountain Summit Road will open to motor vehicles April 15, weather and road conditions permitting, park officials have announced.

The Hulls Cove Visitor Center is scheduled to open May 7, offering free information and park entrance passes for sale. Weekly, annual and lifetime entrance passes also may be purchased online at Recreation.gov.

The Park Store at the Visitor Center, which sells park-related items including books and maps, also will open May 7.

The Thompson Island Information Center will open May 15. The Sieur de Monts Nature Center will be open weekends starting May 15 and every day starting May 29.

The Islesford Museum on Little Cranberry Island opens June 27. 

The park’s campgrounds, closed all last year because of COVID-19, will be open this year, but the number of campsites available will be reduced because on the ongoing pandemic.

Blackwoods Campground is to open May 7, with Seawall and Schoodic Woods campgrounds opening May 26. All campsite reservations must be made online at Recreation.gov.

The gift shop at Jordan Pond House will open April 26, and the Jordan Pond House restaurant will open May 19.

The Cadillac Mountain Eco-Store and the Thunder Hole Gift Shop are scheduled to open May 3. Wildwood Stables will open May 21 for equestrian camping and boarding and will begin offering group carriage rides May 22.

As previously reported, the Island Explorer bus system will begin service on the Schoodic Peninsula on May 26. On Mount Desert Island, starting June 23, the buses will run more frequently but on fewer routes than in the past. That is because rider capacity on each bus is being reduced to allow for social distancing to prevent the transmission of COVID-19. All bus riders must wear face masks.

Also, to protect against the virus, “visitors are required to wear face masks in all federal buildings including visitor centers, restrooms, gift shops and concession facilities,” Acadia officials said in a press release.

“Visitors over 2 are required to wear face masks outdoors when physical distancing (staying at least 6 feet apart) cannot be maintained, including sidewalks, hiking trails, carriage roads, overlooks, campground amphitheaters and Island Explorer bus stops.”

Acadia Superintendent Kevin Schneider said the park’s top priority is to make sure employees and visitors are safe.

MDI Mainer

This October, from the 10th through the 14th, there will be be a five-day workshop in Acadia, featuring 16 instructors, all with great local and national reputations. Attendance is limited to around 100 clients, individual programs are limited to 10 participants. The cost is $2400, which does not include travel or lodging.

With so many instructors, the workshop will offer an uncommon and exceptional diversity of photography styles and perspectives, in one of the premier photographic venues on the North American continent. All at one of the best times of the year to visit Maine!

For more information: https://www.outofchicago.com/conference/acadia-2021/

Image by Instructor John Putnam

Quixdraw Loc: x

"What is it that the vintners buy that's half so precious as the stuff they sell?"

MDI Mainer

One just never knows where a thread on UHH will lead.

And much as Wine has play'd the Infidel,
And robb'd me of my Robe of Honor -- well,
I often wonder what the Vintners buy
One half so precious as the Goods they sell.

-- from The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, by Omar Khayyam / Translated by Edward FitzGerald

Commentary by Ivan M. Granger

Wine . . . is a metaphor for the heavenly drink of bliss. Here Omar Khayyam is speaking of the Infidel wine with an ironic double meaning. On the one hand it is the forbidden earthly drink in the Islamic world, the drink tasted only by "Infidels." (Of course, in reality, many Muslims drink alcohol without feeling it limits the depth of their faith.) On the other hand, wine is the promised drink of paradise. In the very foundations of Islam, wine has had a dual nature, from the profane to the most sacred -- and Sufi poetry loves to play with this paradox.

For Khayyam, it is the heavenly wine, the drink of bliss that has played the Infidel by robbing him of his "Robe and Honor." This is a reference to how the nondualistic perspective that overwhelmes you in deep bliss makes all distinctions and social roles, even religious roles and positions of honor, empty. You recognize yourself as essentially whole, even though you stand naked, stripped of the robes of social position. The Infidel Wine has made you an infidel to the outer forms of religion and social honor.

We are all of us "Vintners," makers of the wine of divine union. But, Khayyam asks, what can we buy in the world -- money, power, position, fame, companionship -- that is even half as valuable as the heavenly wine we waste in order to gain those things?

It is best to spend our lives in quiet fermentation, cultivating within ourselves heavenly wine, and drinking deeply until we become drunk in indescribable joy!

https://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/Poets/K/KhayyamOmar/71Andmuchas/index.html#:~:text=One%20half%20so%20precious%20as%20the%20Goods%20they%20sell.&text=Wine%2C%20as%20I've%20mentioned,the%20heavenly%20drink%20of%20bliss.&text=The%20Infidel%20Wine%20has%20made,the%20wine%20of%20divine%20union.

MDI Mainer

A new and expanded edition of my favorite photography guide to Acadia National Park, Colleen Miniuk's "Photographing Acadia National Park: The Essential Guide to When, Where and How," is forthcoming in late June of this year. Both a print and an e-book version will be available.

The Second Edition will include:

80+ new photographs with descriptions and technical details

4 new locations

5 new Making the Photo stories

GPS coordinates to the parking lot and/or trailhead added to each location’s directions

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/photographing-acadia-guidebook-2nd-edition?mc_cid=576bd50c68&mc_eid=98c3745a5b#/

KenProspero

Ooooh Great Book!!! I'm heading up to Acadia in the first week of May, and am using her guide to plan my trip.

MDI Mainer

The three Island gardens operated by the Land and Garden Preserve have announced their 2021 opening schedules:

Asticou Azalea Garden - May 5
Public hours: Seven days per week, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (5 p.m. in September and October)

Thuya Garden - June 23
Public hours: Wednesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. (5 p.m. in September and October)

Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden - July 14
Public days: Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday, 12:30 - 4 p.m.
Reservations required. Click here: https://prod5.agileticketing.net/websales/pages/list.aspx?epguid=814b4620-dd55-4b3c-861f-13775a1cddfc&

All three are wonderful photographic opportunities.